The Cleveland Browns have Joel Bitonio back on the field.
That’s a welcome turn of events, as there were no guarantees of his coming back for another year, especially after a disappointing season.
Nevertheless, the veteran guard still has a competitive fire inside him.
And when asked about his future, he didn’t want to make any decisions or commitments, but he made it loud and clear that he will continue to play for as long as he feels that spark:
“Going into last year, there was no thought of me playing my last year. I was just ready to play. I knew I had a couple of years left in my contract, and I was like, ‘Hey, we’ll see how this goes.’ After the first few games, my body was starting to ache a little bit, we weren’t playing great as a team and I was like, ‘What am I really doing out here?’ But I think I found a spark, and hopefully the team can play [well this season]. I’m really just taking it one game at a time. Year 12, anything I do at this point is truly gravy, and I want to be a part of competitive football. … Hopefully in December and January we’re playing meaningful games,” Bitonio said.
Of course, going deep into the playoffs this season should be more than enough motivation for the future Hall of Famer to run it back for another year.
But even if that’s the case, the Browns must make sure to start finding someone to carry the torch.
This offensive line is aging and somewhat brittle, and an injury could prove to be disastrous.
The Browns would benefit from finding a young guard for Bitonio to take under his wing, mentor, and mold when it’s time for him to hang up the cleats.
He knows he’s inching closer to the end of the line, and failure to find a replacement would leave this team scrambling for years to come.
The offensive line is coming off a dreadful year, and they will be under a lot of pressure to bounce back this season.
With Bitonio there, however, they should always be trusted to get something going in the running game, regardless of who’s ultimately out there in the backfield.
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